23 Mar 2009
FAQ’s – Is it hard to find a job in Puerto Rico?
Author: Summer | Filed under: Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico FAQ's
Here is another frequently asked question, that we get from people interested in moving to Puerto Rico:
“…What about jobs? Me being half ass bilingual and him only speaking english, do you think we could get by?”
My answer: While Stefan and I havn’t had to look for jobs here (we both are self-employed), I don’t know anyone who can’t find work. There are plenty of jobs here, although they arn’t the best paying jobs in the world. In the town we live in (Rincon), most gringos work in the tourism industry (bartenders, surf instructors, cooks, massage therpists, etc) and it’s easy to get by with knowing little to no Spanish because many Puerto Ricans speak both English and Spanish.
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March 24th, 2009 at 6:03 am
I don’t speak Spanish and I work for Honeywell in Aguadilla as an electrical engineer but it was the only company that didnt require you to be bilingual.
March 24th, 2009 at 6:53 am
Depends on what you do and what you want. If you want health and retirement benefits it is hard. Many people working at El Mezon (sandwich place) have Masters degrees and the only people who get health benefits are managers. I just applied for my first job (didn’t get an interview) for a position photographing and labeling invertebrates at the university. People with Phds applied for the job that was 1400 a month but had benefits. My BA, teaching certificate and gobs of other credits didn’t matter. My photography background http://www.underseavisions.com didn’t matter. Lots of people Jeff works with have long commutes for their job in Aquadilla – from San German, San Juan and Ponce. I think it depends on what you want to do. Many people here are over educated for the jobs they have. If you want to be a fix-it-person you can find more work than you want. katrina
March 24th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Here it’s more about who you know than who you are… and it stinks.
I was (and still am) doing freelance work for almost 2 years (minus the Obama campaign), before I finally got a job offer in my field last month.
March 24th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Up in the mountains (Lares area) you can make $5/hr doing manual labor! No kidding. Tax free too.
March 25th, 2009 at 6:48 am
I work with nonprofits, in organizational and fund development. It is a job that most often goes begging, because a job holder not only pays for him/herself, but also for several other positions they need filled and programs they need to run – if you know what you are doing. Still it pays at most about 1/3 on the island than the median compensation in the USA,where it also often goes begging, so there is practically no competition for that kind of jobs here.
March 25th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Relocating to PR without a fixed income is a big gamble. This is an island with 4 million persons and 1 million jobs. You only need one job, but the competition is tuff. Many people with low skills find a decent living by working like carpenters or plumbers getting paid in cash and receiving all the welfare benefits.
March 25th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Like Katrinakruse wrote it all depends on what your looking 4. I work for Johnson & Johnson, they have various sites across the island. And there are many other high paying jobs here, just like any state. There is a little of everything, it’s just a matter of what your looking for and it helps to know someone someplace.
December 7th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
This is a very interesting topic Gringos in Rincon do jobs that dont do in the MAINLAND like cooking, cleaning romms and working for minimun wage.Im also surprised how many surfing instructors come from places that they dont have any any waves like MICHIGAN and PENNSYLVANIA.Also a yoga instructor told me you could be certified in one weekend to be an instrustor.wow how many yoga instructors are in Rincon now. I guess anything is possible in Rincon
April 2nd, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Why does it seem like everyone is moving to RIncon????? What about the rest of the island. Don’t know much about Puerto Rico…but would love to find out more.
My husband and I are actually thinking of moving there. We were looking at the San Juan area. Bayamon, Rio Piedras…